582 Grayhead vs Bluehead

[Bandit 286]

What is the difference between the older 582 Grayhead compared to the new Bluehead. I might have a chance to buy a 582 Grayhead FWD. Or is the Bluehead much better?

[C5Engineer 1170]

Not a huge difference between the two. The two biggest differences are the Blue head had a Thermostat installed to help prevent cold seizures. It's available for the grey head. The second big improvement was the Ceramic water pump seal mod. The grey heads were notorious for that seal leaking which would mix RV fluid with coolant. There are lots of people out there machining the block to accept the new seal. I've heard there also differences in the Crank size between the two but I am not positive of that. I put 30 hours on my grey head before going to a blue head. With the two mods mentioned above they are essentially the same. The guy I bought my FWF from put 2200 documented hours on that engine before I got which speaks volumes.

[akflyer 1427]

The crank is the same, the blue head has the ceramic seal. The issue with that is the rubber seals will cut into the RV shaft if you use regular anti freeze and tap water. With extended life (silica free) anti freeze and distilled water, the problem goes away and you dont eat the RV shaft. They also added an additional cooling circuit to the blue head with a bypass line. The grey head will do you just fine if it is low time. Throw a set of seals on the crank and fly the crud out of it!

[dholly 718]

>>> CLICK HERE <<< to listen to a UltraFlight Radio show where Ronnie Smith of South Mississippi Light Aircraft describes what it would take to convert an older Rotax 582 engine into the newer model 99 Blue Head. Ronnie goes through all of the steps it takes and then offers another solution.